


I've Just Seen a Face

by searchingwardrobes



Series: Fandom Birthday Playlist [22]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Meet-Cute, in the rain, with bear claws
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 08:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19103698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/searchingwardrobes/pseuds/searchingwardrobes
Summary: Later he’ll say it was fate that they gave him the last bear claw. A modern AU Captain Swan meet-cute for xHookedonKillianx on her birthday.





	I've Just Seen a Face

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xHookedonKillianx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xHookedonKillianx/gifts).



> * Based on the Beatles song of the same name, and a prompt from AuthorZoo.com's post "How to Craft a Killer Meet Cute"

_I’ve just seen a face. I can’t forget the time or place where we just met. She’s just the girl for me, and I want all the world to see we’ve met._  

It was Killian’s job every Friday to get the donuts. It wasn’t because he was so low on the business ladder; the name of the company was Jones Brothers Shipping, after all. It wasn’t because he was the little brother of said Jones brothers, either. It’s just that he liked donuts, he liked the way Tink and Ariel smiled when he brought them in, he liked the way his brother stopped stressing for once to have coffee and a chat, and so. . . yeah, he bought the donuts.  

He also, unlike his brother, pays attention to details. It’s why they make such a great team (in addition to being siblings which means they can fight viciously and still be okay at the end of the day): Liam is the big picture guy and Killian is the details guy. Therefore, he knows that Ariel likes jelly donuts, Tink likes strawberry frosted (with sprinkles), and his brother likes bear claws. Will, Robin, and Eric like cake donuts for some bizarre reason, and Killian just likes classic glazed, thank you very much.  

On this particular Friday, it’s raining and there’s a bad accident on I-93, and it took Killian at least ten minutes of crawling around in the back seat to find his umbrella, so he’s wet and cross and running late when he dashes into the bakery. Tink says he’s part owner and therefore, can’t be late, but he and Liam are former navy and well,  _schedules_ and all of that.  

Normally, he would chat with Bridget who’s always working the register (Ariel would say  _flirt_ ), and give a polite hello to those around him, but his day is already going poorly, so he’s laser focused on his order and nothing else.  

“You got here just in time,” Bridget comments as she rings him up, “there was only one bear claw left.” 

Later, he’ll say its fate, but in that moment he barely notices the comment. He simply snatches up the box of donuts and bravely makes his way back out into the heavy downpour, struggling to keep a hold of the box of donuts while simultaneously opening his umbrella. Not an easy task for anyone, but even more so for him, missing his left hand. Another result of those former navy days.  

So he isn’t exactly in the best mood initially when he meets her, rude and sharp “Hey! Hey, you!” coming angrily from her lips. He groans at her words and is ready with a sharp retort before he even turns around.  

But see, he turned around. He turned around, and he saw her, and that pretty much stopped his ability to speak. She either has no umbrella or has had an even worse morning than he has because she's standing there getting soaked in the pouring rain. Most women would have rivulets of mascara running down their faces, but she doesn’t, and he wonders if her clear lack of eye makeup is indicative of how her morning has gone or her personality.  He also wonders if her skin is always so fair, her lips that pink, or if she’s chilled from the rain. 

But mostly he thinks how incredibly, unfairly beautiful she is. No one has the right to be that gorgeous standing in the pouring rain, but she is. Her golden hair is flattened to her head, yet it does nothing to detract from its brightness. The rain drops glisten on her eyelashes, making her jade eyes sparkle like gems.  He could stare at that face all day, but his eyes can’t help tracing the rivulets of water running over her collarbone and noting the figure she cuts in the white blouse now plastered to her skin from the rain. Over it she’s wearing a red leather jacket, not the most practical thing to wear in the rain, but it makes her look like some sort of heroine from a comic book, especially the way her hands are perched on her hips. The intense, feisty look on her face completes the picture, and he can’t help the half grin that tilts his lips.  

“Aye, love?” 

She rolls her eyes, something that he’s never considered arousing until now. 

“I’m not hitting on you, idiot. I want your bear claw.” 

Feisty indeed. He takes a few steps closer, admiring the way she doesn’t back down.  

“Well, see, I bought it fair and square, so I believe we are at an impasse.” 

She crosses her arms over her chest and scowls at him. “What are you, auditioning for the next  _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movie?”  

He laughs. She shoots the proverbial daggers from her eyes.  

“And get out of my personal space,” she snaps. 

“I was attempting to share my umbrella.” 

“I’m already wet.” 

“I can see that.” He arches a brow. It may earn him a punch to the gut, but he can’t stop himself. 

She rolls her eyes again. It’s better than a blow from her fist. “The bear claw?” 

“It’s my brother’s favorite.” 

“I’ll pay you for it.” 

“I still won’t have a bear claw for Liam.” 

“Not my problem.” 

“Then why is your lack of a bear claw mine?” 

She sighs in irritation as she pushes wet strands of hair from her face. “Look, I’ve had a shitty morning, and the only thing that could make it better is a damn bear claw. Okay?” 

Something in her eyes shifts, and he frowns. It’s as if a tiny window has opened and then quickly shut again. She doesn’t open up often or easily; he can see that clearly. 

“Okay, you can have the bear claw, but the payment I ask isn’t money,” he tells her, all flirtation and cockiness gone from his voice.  

She blinks, and her mouth opens in clear offense. “I don’t pillage and plunder with guys I just met, if that’s what you’re asking, pirate.” 

He chuckles again as he hands her the umbrella to hold while he opens the box of donuts. He balances the box on his prosthetic while extending the bear claw with his good hand.  

“Your name,” he tells her, “that’s all I want.” 

She cocks her head at him suspiciously. “That’s all?” 

“That’s all.” 

She eyes him, then the bear claw peace offering, then him again. Whatever test she puts him through, he passes.  

“Emma Swan,” she says, taking the bear claw. 

“Killian Jones.” He winks at her as he takes a step back.  

“Your umbrella!” She exclaims as he gets farther away, his own hair now plastered to his forehead.  

“You need it more than I do, love.” 

And if his address and phone number are on the handle, well, she can do with it what she wills.  

 _Had it been another day, I might have looked the other way, and I’d have never been aware, but as it_ _is_ _I’ll_ _dream_ _of her tonight._  

“Killian? Killian!” 

“Hmm?” 

Liam frowns. “First you give me a plain donut instead of my usual bear claw, and now you’re ignoring me. What’s with you?” 

“He met someone,” Ariel says as she comes in to put a folder in the filing cabinet. They really need a bigger office.  

Liam arches a brow at him over the rim of his coffee mug, and Ariel leans smugly against the filing cabinet. Killian scowls at her, but she just winks at him.  

“It was nothing,” he mutters. 

“He gave her your bear claw  _and_ his umbrella.” 

Liam chuckles. “The umbrella that just happens to have your number on it.” 

“How do you know what my umbrella looks like?’ 

“Because Elsa bought it for you last Christmas.” 

Ariel laughs merrily. “Oh Kil, that’s adorable.” She pats him on the shoulder in a way that he frankly feels is condescending as she leaves the room. 

“So I take it she was pretty.” 

 _Pretty? The word is insufficient, brother, she was bloody gorgeous._  But he says nothing aloud, just scratches behind his ear.  

“Blonde hair, green eyes, and in Killian’s own words  _feisty_.” 

“Can you shut up now?” he snaps as he turns to where Ariel is still standing in the doorway. She isn’t affected in the least by his irritation, giggling as she heads back to her desk.  

“Wow, little brother, she must have been some blonde.” 

“Can we get back to the budget,” Killian grumbles, staring intently at the paper work in his hands.  

 

 _Falling,_ _yes_ _I am falling, and she keeps calling me back again._  

He hasn’t been able to get her out of his mind. He tried to tell himself that she has his number; that if he were a true gentleman, he would let her take the next step. But when Friday rolls around, he can’t help himself. He purposefully arrives late to the bakery at the same time she was there last week. He doesn’t even know if it’s part of her routine, but he has to try.  

When he walks into the bakery and sees her sitting at one of the small tables, he thinks he wasn’t crazy after all. When he approaches and sees two bear claws and the nervous smile on her face, he’s sure of it.  

“I, um, owed you a bear claw, so . . . “ she says, biting on her lower lip as she slides one of the plates closer to him, “and the umbrella . . . “ she trails off as she gestures to where it’s leaning against her chair.  

Many flirtatious barbs and innuendos fly through his head, but her obvious discomfort as she tugs on the ends of her hair cause him to discard each one. Instead, he keeps it simple. 

“I appreciate that. May I join you, Swan?” 

Her shoulders relax under the warmth of his smile. “That’s the idea. And you remembered my name.” 

He winks as he sits. “I did pay for it.” 

Her cheeks warm. “True, Killian.” 

Now it’s his turn to blush. “And you remembered mine. Let me guess, it’s because it was on the umbrella.” 

“No.” 

She accompanies the word with a tiny smile and a sparkle in her eyes, and Killian Jones learns in that moment that Emma Swan says a lot with few words.  

They linger over their bear claws and through two cups of coffee. In that time, Killian also learns that Emma reveals herself slowly and hesitantly. She does tell him why she was so desperate for a bear claw last Friday. She’s a bail bondsperson, and she had been up all night staking out a perp who never showed. It had left her irritated, tired, and pissed that she hadn’t been home with her son. The last piece of information is delivered with a sidelong glance, as if she’s waiting for him to find an excuse to make a quick exit. Her eyebrows lift to her hairline with surprise and pleasure when he asks about the lad instead. She’s still guarded in sharing about him, something he completely understands and respects.  

It’s a text from Liam that brings their time together to an end. ( _Where the hell are you, little brother? Everyone’s waiting for their donuts!_ ) He really doesn’t care about his pissed off brother or the fact that everyone’s going to have to settle for plain glazed this week. Emma was there, she was happy to see him, and she actually had a conversation with him. He’ll gladly be late and face the wrath of the entire office very damn Friday for that.  

He knows that’s all he can hope for – running into her again next week. He sees how high her walls are, knows it will take patience and a gentle touch to scale them, so he tells her breakfast was lovely and walks out with his box of donuts. He’s surprised when he hears her breathless voice behind him, calling for him to wait.  

“Your umbrella,” she tells him.  

He hadn’t left without it on purpose, but he’s glad he did when he sees her flushed cheeks and bright eyes as she holds it out to him.  

“Thank you for letting me borrow it.” 

Their fingers brush as she hands it to him, and the spark between their skin emboldens him. He sets the box of donuts and the umbrella on the hood of his car and turns to her with a flirtatious arch of his brow.  

“Don’t you think gratitude is in order?” he asks flirtatiously as he taps his lips. 

The slow grin that spreads across her face says more than any words could. “Yeah, that’s what the thank you was for.” 

“That’s all I get? For keeping you dry all day?” He ducks his head and gives her a heated look from beneath his lashes. He’s laying it on thick, but the light in her eyes eggs him on. 

“Please,” she says with that arousing roll of her eyes, “you couldn’t handle it.” 

He leans into her personal space. “Perhaps you’re the one who couldn’t handle it.” He pops the “t” as he gazes at her lips.  

He really thought that all he would get from her was more heated banter. He hadn’t expected Emma Swan to grab him by the collar of his leather jacket and kiss the living hell out of him, but that’s exactly what she does. She kisses him roughly, her tongue assaulting his in the most glorious way. He kisses her back with equal fervor, and she pulls back for a heartbeat only to dive back in for more. When they finally part, breathless and unsteady on their feet, he’s thoroughly wrecked.  

“That was . . . “ he has no words actually for what that was. The best kiss of his life, perhaps, but it sounds a little too intense to say that out loud.  

“I don’t do relationships,” she tells him, her lips still a breath away, her hands still clutching his jacket.  

He blinks, feeling a sort of emotional whiplash.  

“Because of my son,” she continues. “It’s why I didn’t call even though I had your number. It’s why I almost left three times before you showed up today. It’s why I can’t -” 

He silences her with a gentle hand to her cheek. “I understand, Emma.” He smiles gently as he thumbs her still wet lips. “Whatever we become, it’s up to you just as much as it is me.” 

She relaxes immediately, taking his hand from her cheek and clasping it against her chest. “I don’t just want a kiss in a parking lot, though.” 

He laughs softly. There she goes, saying a lot with few words again.  

“Then how about this,” he says, lifting her hands to his lips and pressing a kiss to her knuckles, “I’ll be here at the same time next Friday, and if you wish, you can join me for a bear claw again.” 

She blinks, her smile soft. “I think I can do that.” 

Friday bear claws turn into Friday dinners, which turn into Saturday morning pancakes in his kitchen, which turn into Sunday afternoons sailing with her and her boy Henry, which turn into exchanging rings and a white picket fence. Until the day comes that he’s meeting another new face, this one with the most beautiful blue eyes he’s ever seen.  

“Nice to meet you, Hope Jones,” he whispers.  

 _I’ve just seen a face. I can’t forget the time or place where we just met. She’s just the girl for me, and I want all the world to see we’ve met._  

 


End file.
